http://sports.cbsimg.net/images/baseball/mlb/players/60x80/392088.jpgGrady Sizemore will return to the field on Sunday, Indians manager Manny Acta said on Thursday.

Sizemore hasn't played since May 16 when he injured his knee and had microfracture surgery in June. He will start by getting two at-bats as the team's designated hitter on Sunday against the Diamondbacks.

"I just told him, 'Hey man, I'm thinking about you, and I'm sorry what happened,'" Kalish said. "He knew it was clean, and I'll try to keep in touch on how he's doing."

It was a clean play all the way around. Kalish was on second when pinch-hitter Daniel Nava singled to right field. Nava tested the arm of Shin-Soo Choo, whose throw just beat Kalish to the plate. Kalish slid, trying to go between Santana's legs, but his right foot went into Santana's left knee and was called out.

"Obviously, I feel bad," Kalish said. "He was blocking the plate, and I felt I had enough time to get in there with my foot. It was a hard slide. I feel awful, but it's part of the game."

According to the Indians' official Twitter account, Red Sox manager Terry Francona called Acta in the clubhouse manager's office to check on Santana.

It's the fourth time this season a member of the Indians has been carted off the field following an injury. Asdrubal Cabrera, David Huff and coaching assistant Ruben Niebla have all been carted off this season.

Santana has had an outstanding debut season, hitting .260/.401/.467 with six homers and 22 RBI in 46 games. He's also been impressive behind the plate.

-- C. Trent Rosecrans

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That news means the Indians may get the outfielder back sooner than expected. Choo injured his right thumb diving for a ball in Friday's game.

"If you compare his right thumb to his left, there's not any significant difference [in stability]," Indians head trainer Lonnie Soloff told Castrovince. "That leads [Dr. Tomas Graham] to believe Choo can work through this non-operatively."

Choo will wear a brace for a week to 10 days before it is re-evaluated by Graham.

The Indians initially set the timetable at six-to-eight weeks, but stopped short of changing that, even if it looks as if Choo will return before then.

"It's good news," Indians manager Manny Acta said. "We're still going to have to wait 10 days to see where that takes us. But it will be a great boost for us if he doesn't need surgery and we can have him back a lot sooner than we were anticipating."

Choo was a likely All-Star before the injury, hitting .286/.390/.475 with 13 home runs and 43 RBI.

Santana hit a two-run home run off of Reds starter Aaron Harang in the top of the fifth, but grimaced in pain before he even got to first base.

In the bottom of the inning, the Indians had a whole new battery, replacing not only Santana with Mike Redmond, but also starter Aaron Laffey with Joe Smith, who promptly surrendered four runs to the Reds.